It’s one thing for government staff to miss a paycheck but when an airline steps into the conversation, you know the ripple-effects are real. Delta Air Lines has formally urged Congress to act and reopen the government, pointing to the strain placed on air traffic controllers, TSA agents and other frontline federal workers who are working overtime with no pay.
Delta’s plea comes as the shutdown stretches beyond four weeks. In a statement the company said: “Missed paychecks only increase the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure.” The airline emphasized that without those federal employees controllers and screeners it cannot reliably carry more than half a million passengers on 5,000 flights every day.
The airline is not directly responsible for paying these workers, but the humanitarian and operational stakes are clear. Controllers and TSA officers are key to keeping airports moving. Many of them haven’t had a full paycheck in weeks; those working overtime are seeing their financial burdens mount. Delta warns that a system under such stress inevitably slows down, which could lead to costly delays, cancellations and even safety risks.
Some of the data is blunt: there are approximately 13,000 air-traffic controllers and 50,000 TSA officers working without pay during the shutdown, according to industry sources. Sick-call rates among controllers are rising. Premium security lanes at major airports have already been impacted due to staffing constraints. Delta’s own internal numbers suggest the airline is bearing costs of under $1 million per day due to the shutdown not huge for a company its size, but still meaningful and its bigger concern is durability of airport services and public trust.
Delta and other carriers are aligning with trade-groups which argue that the shutdown isn’t just a political standoff it’s a direct threat to the national air-travel system. The company’s message: these workers are doing the job, without pay or certainty, and it’s time for Congress to provide a clean funding solution so things can stabilize.
From the federal-worker perspective, the toll is more than financial. Controllers are operating systems already short-staffed, and now they’re doing more hours, unpaid, while their mortgages, rents and bills stack up. One union leader described some as “on the verge of quitting and doing gig work” just to make ends meet. With the holidays approaching and passenger volumes expected to surge, the pressure is only set to grow.
Delta’s intervention is significant. For a major airline to publicly pressure Congress sends a signal: this isn’t business-as-usual. The airlines rely on federal partners. When those partners can’t function as intended, the ripple reaches flight departures, security queues, and passenger experience. And that impacts brand, reputation and operations.
In short, Delta’s statement says this: end the shutdown now not just to help federal workers, but to prevent broader disruption. Whether Congress will act remains unclear, but the clock is running. For travelers, airport staff, and the companies relying on them, “business as usual” has already been interrupted.
